Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Sergei Andronov was overlooked in the last couple of drafts but saw his stock raising in the second half of the season because of his very good WJC. He scored eight goals during the KHL season; which is very good for youngsters in Russia. particularly since he played in a defense-first team. After the WJC in Canada, at which he helped Nemchinov’s team earning the bronze medal with eight points in seven games, scoring a goal in the semi-finals too.

2009-10: Andronov began the season with Tolyatti Lada and accumulated 5 goals, 9 assists for 14 points in 33 games. He was traded to CSKA Moscow, where he appeared in 19 games and scored 5 goals, 3 assists for 8 points.

2010-11: Andronov saw limited ice time with the veteran CSKA Moscow club in Russia’s KHL. In 53 games he averaged under 11 minutes of ice time per game, mostly in a checking role, and was -9 with 5 goals, 2 assists and 14 PMs. CSKA Moscow finished last in the Bobrov Division; missing the KHL playoffs. He had a bit more offensive success playing for CSKA’s U22 team in the MHL. In seven regular season games he scored 3 goals with 2 assists and 29 PMs. In the playoffs he scored 6 goals with 5 assists in 16 games as CSKA captured the MHL championship.

2011-12: Andronov was limited to 29 games with CSKA Moscow in his fifth pro season. He scored 1 goal with 3 assists and was minus-2 with 4 penalty minutes. He skated in all five games in the first round series against SKA St. Petersburg and was minus-1 with 1 goal. Andronov signed a one-year contract with the Blues AHL affiliate Peoria in August, 2012.

2012-13: Andronov signed an AHL contract with St. Louis affiliate Peoria in August 2012 and played 59 games for the Rivermen in his first pro season in North America. He scored 8 goals with 11 assists and was minus-1 with 32 penalty minutes. The Rivermen missed the AHL playoffs after finishing last in the Midwest Division. Andronov signed a one-year entry-level contract with St. Louis in March, 2013.

2013-14: Andronov skated in 53 regular season games and five of nine playoff contests for Blues AHL affiliate Chicago in his second season in the St. Louis organization — missing all but one game in February due to an upper body injury. He scored 13 goals with 13 assists and was plus-13 with 24 penalty minutes in the regular season. The Wolves finished first in the Midwest Division and advanced to the second round in the playoffs. Andronov was minus-2 with no points and 2 penalty minutes in five playoff games. Tendered a qualifying offer by St. Louis in June 2014, he signed a contract to play for CSKA Moscow in the KHL in 2014-15 in August and is currently a restricted free agent.

Talent Analysis

Andronov is a skilled player with smooth hands that has good skating speed and acceleration. His puck handling skills allow him to carry play into the offensive zone to create score opportunities. He has a nose for the net. Andronov is not considered a great finisher and the big winger likes to play a perimeter game. He can play all the forward positions but needs to improve his physicality and defensive awareness.

Future

Andronov was tendered a qualifying offer by the Blues in June 2014 after two seasons in the AHL but instead chose to head back to Russia; returning to the CSKA Moscow club he played for before coming to North America. Andronov was one of the better two-way forwards for the Chicago Wolves in his second season in 2013-14 but with the depth in the Blues' organization he would have been hard-pressed to earn a spot in St. Louis. While it would not be a shock to see him take another shot at the NHL in the future, the 25-year-old seems likely to play out his career in Europe where he is guaranteed to earn a fairly significant contract.

Photo: Petteri Lindbohm is making the transition to North American hockey in 2014-15 with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves (courtesy of Brad Rempel/Icon Sportswire)

Last season, the St. Louis Blues looked quite thin down the middle and had very few standout players at other levels of hockey. After the 2014 NHL Draft, the Blues look much better at center with the additions of Ivan Barbashev and Robby Fabbri. They also continue to maintain strong depth at the goaltending position, as both Jordan Binnington and Jake Allen are considered high-level prospects.

Photo: David Rundblad, selected 12th overall, is the lone NHL player among the St. Louis 2009 draft class. The Swedish defenseman, currently with Phoenix, was traded to Ottawa in the summer of 2010 for the first round pick used to draft Vladimir Tarasenko (courtesy of Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

During most NHL drafts, the St. Louis Blues have been known to capitalize on their draft picks, whether they have a first or not. The 2009 draft proved to be a different story for the Blues, as they were unable to pick worthwhile players with any of their six draft choices.

Photo: Winger Dmitrij Jaskin leads Chicago Wolves rookies in points-per-game so far in 2013-14. His play earned him a four-game stint with St. Louis in late December (courtesy of Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

The Chicago Wolves are the new AHL affiliate for the St. Louis Blues and have been somewhat productive this year. The Wolves are currently second in their division with a record of 19-13-1-2.

Photo: Winger Dmitrij Jaskin is part of a new class of prospects skating with the Blues’ new AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves (courtesy of Mark Buckner/NHLI via Getty Images)

The St. Louis Blues minor league team suffered drastically from a shortage of high-end talent last season. On the blue line, the Peoria Rivermen, lacked significant offensive production, putting immense pressure on the forwards.